Albino
by Peonywinx
Summary: When a pink-eyed "albino" patient is admitted to PPTH, House is assigned her case. But he's got his suspicions about his patient and her group of overly strange friends, and so, being House, he investigates. And what he finds out tests all he believes in.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The sunlight streamed into the not-so-bustling hospital lobby through the glass doors as they opened to admit the unshaven, middle-aged man in a rumpled T-shirt, faded jeans, and Nike sneakers who held a cane as he walked. The nurses in the lobby parted to make way for Dr. Gregory House, Head of the Department of Diagnostic Medicine, not out of any respect for the man (though they did harbor a grudging admiration for his brilliance), but rather out of a desire to stay out of the way of his sharp tongue and antisocial manners. But one woman, dark-haired, slender, and authoritative, strode up to him as the doors swung shut and handed him a single file.

"You've got a case", Dr. Lisa Cuddy, Dean of Medicine and Administrator of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, New Jersey, told House.

"That's it?" said House, not bothering to accept the file she held out to him. "No 'Good morning', no 'Thank you for curing the last patient with the mysterious neurological problem?'"

"Albinistic female, aged 19, suffered from a heart attack as she was being discharged", said Cuddy, ignoring House's question – which was rhetorical, anyway.

House grabbed the file from her hand in a fluid move and held it out of her reach. "I assume you don't mean this hospital, because if you did, then you would have come to me earlier."

"Not if our regular doctors could have found out what was wrong with her", Cuddy countered. "But you're right. She was referred to you by her last doctor, the one who discharged her."

House raised his eyebrows, pleased. "Wow. I'm getting famous already. Why do you say she's an albino?" he asked curiously.

Cuddy shrugged. "She's got pink eyes – go figure."

"And yet there's no mention of it in her medical file at all", said House, looking at said file. "It does, however, say that she was stabbed with a knife. How did that happen?"

"She was mugged."

"It also says that the knife pierced her lung."

"So?"

"So, that means the heart attack was caused by lack of oxygen to the heart because of the collapsed lung", House stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Also known in medical circles as _Angina pectoris_. Case solved." He tossed the file back to Cuddy and continued on his way, but Cuddy caught up to him easily and cornered him just outside the elevator.

"The heart attack occurred after she was discharged", said Cuddy, "Which means her doctors fixed the lung."

"So they didn't fix it right and it collapsed again. Or it's a lingering after-effect of the lack of oxygen right after she was mugged." House pressed the 'Up' button with his cane and sighed. "Are you going to leave me alone now?"

"The lung never collapsed and she was given an oxygen mask almost immediately." Cuddy's face assumed a superior look.

House rolled his eyes. "Come on. How immediate could _almost _immediately be? There had to be at least six or seven minutes before –"

"Three", was Cuddy's simple reply.

House blinked. "Was she mugged _in _the hospital?"

"Just outside it."

At this House's surprise turned to amazed disbelief. "That's stupid", he declared. "Who mugs somebody right outside a hospital? Dozens of people pass by there every minute."

Cuddy raised her arms helplessly, one hand still holding the file. "According to witness statements there was nobody close enough to help at the time."

"Right." The skepticism was obvious in his tone. "Either they're blind, or someone's lying. Who are the witnesses?"

Cuddy consulted the file. "Her boyfriend and three other friends. They also brought her in."

House looked even more skeptical than before. "So her boyfriend and friends all have muscular dystrophy which renders them unable to run a couple of blocks to help her. Interesting." He looked up as the elevator descended before walking in. Cuddy followed him.

"She was alone at the time; her boyfriend said she'd separated from them to do something. They were close enough to see what happened but too far away to help."

"Even more interesting", House said, his voice tinted with heavy sarcasm and a slight curiosity. He moved his cane to press the button for the floor he was headed for. Cuddy noticed the light interest and opened her mouth to argue some more, but House spared her the necessity.

"You said her friends brought her in. Where are her parents?"

Cuddy closed her mouth and then opened it again to reply. "She's an orphan. Her birth parents died when she was two."

"And the boyfriend and friends?"

"All from the same orphanage."

"Relatives?"

"She doesn't have any that are known."

House mulled this over for several seconds as the elevator moved upward. "They're all lying", he concluded. At Cuddy's raised eyebrows, he added, "Oh, come on. A boyfriend and three friends all claim that she was mugged right outside a hospital because _there was nobody there at the time_. That's a lame witness statement, probably one of the dumbest I've ever heard."

"Well, then how else do you explain how she was fed O2 three minutes after her lung was pierced?" asked Cuddy.

"Simple", said House. "Her friends are lying."

"Her medical records confirm it."

House looked at her, and then up at the ceiling as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. "Fine", he said finally, holding out his hand. "Give me the file." Cuddy complied, and House snatched it out of her extended hand as he tramped out of the elevator.

* * *

"19-year-old female albino, stabbed in the lung with a knife during a mugging, given oxygen within three minutes of injury, but suffered a heart attack as she was being discharged." House put his marker down after writing "ALBINO" and "HEART ATTACK" on his whiteboard and pointed his cane at his team. "Go."

"Cardiovascular disease", said Taub immediately.

House stared at him disapprovingly. "Didn't you hear what I just said? She's nineteen. That wouldn't be enough time for her blood vessels to toughen up to the consistency of those of a fifty-year-old. Aside from which she has absolutely no history of heart disease. Read the file – it'll tell you the same thing. Strike one."

"How do you know she's an albino?" Foreman asked, studying their patient's file, which House had tossed to him.

"She's got pink eyes", stated House.

"You actually went to see a patient?" Thirteen asked, amazed.

"No, but Cuddy did", replied House. He eyed her critically. "Are we going to get back to the differential or are we going to stand around debating?"

"Cardiomyopathy caused by a systemic disease", Thirteen said. "Even three minutes of oxygen deprivation could cause the heart muscle to deteriorate, especially if her heart is fragile due to an underlying condition."

"She could also be suffering from arrhythmia or shock from the mugging", said Taub.

"Her previous doctor reports normal heartbeats", House pointed out. "Strike two."

"What about drugs?" Kutner asked. "An overdose of any one of several could have caused the heart attack. Maybe her previous doctor gave her too much meds."

"Unnoticed hemorrhage or a blood clot is more likely", Foreman countered.

"Run a tox screen and test for amyloidosis, hemochromatosis, diabetes, and whatever else causes cardiomyopathy. Check her blood count to rule out hemorrhage", House ordered. "And get a full family history", he added as his employees rose to run the tests. "This file is barely two pages long. And one of the pages is her previous doctor's report."

"It tells us everything relevant to her case, and she's an orphan", Foreman pointed out.

"Everybody lies", House quipped, before popping a Vicodin into his mouth.

* * *

In a hospital room not too far away, four young adults sat in the same room while their friend – House's patient – lay on the bed, propped up against pillows and hooked up to several monitors.

The patient had long blonde hair and curiously pink eyes. She was dressed in the Princeton-Plainsboro hospital gown but an earring in the shape of the planet Saturn dangled from each ear.

"Did we really have to come all the way to the 21st century for a medical diagnosis?" she was inquiring of the person closest to her – an auburn-haired young man with electric blue eyes.

"Imra, you had a heart attack", he told her. "None of the doctors back in the 31st century could figure out why, and according to Brainy, Dr. House was the best diagnostician in the 21st century, and no one seems to have come close to his genius in the last millennium."

"I was shot by a laser that pierced my lung", said Imra. "The lack of oxygen is probably what caused the heart attack."

"We don't know that for sure", he countered. "Brainy couldn't find a proper link between the two."

"Garth, we're disrupting the timeline…" Imra began.

"…for one of the most important members of the Legion", Garth finished for her, clasping her hand in his.

Imra looked at him with the slightest hint of a woeful smile just as two doctors entered the room, completely unaware that the five people in the room were not just ordinary people, and even more clueless still as to the fact that they were, in fact, five members of the Legion of Superheroes from the 31st century.

"Good morning, Miss Ardeen", Foreman greeted. "How are you feeling?"

"Please, it's Imra", Imra responded. "And I'm as good as I can be, considering I'm in a hospital", she added wryly.

"We'll have you out of here as soon as possible", Thirteen assured her. "I'm Dr. Hadley, and this is Dr. Foreman."

"Nice to meet you." Imra gestured for her friends to step forward. "This is Garth, Chuck, Tinya, and Luornu."

"Where's Dr. House?" asked Chuck – a plump young man in a blue cotton sweatshirt and black pants.

"He's…busy at the moment", Thirteen replied cautiously, catching Foreman's eye. Imra noticed this action and picked up on the mental waves concerning Dr. House's misanthropic personality. She relayed this information telepathically to the other Legionnaires, who immediately ceased to wonder why Gregory House was not examining his patient himself.

"We're gonna need to draw some blood so we can run a few tests", Thirteen continued. Imra nodded.

"Do you have any idea why she had a heart attack?" asked Luornu as Foreman injected Imra's arm with a syringe. Foreman looked at her. She was a slender girl in a form-fitting white dress with purple and orange streaks (which, incidentally, perfectly matched the streaks in her curiously snow white hair).

Foreman noticed her unusual hair color, but he said nothing about it. Instead he answered, "That's what we're trying to find out…Luornu, right?"

"Yep", she replied.

"That's a unique name", Thirteen commented. Foreman wasn't listening, however – he was carefully examining the patient's pink eyes.

"Your eyes always been that color?" he asked.

Imra's hand went unconsciously to her face. "Yes. Why?"

"It's called albinism", Foreman explained. "That's the term for a condition that results from a lack of pigmentation. There are several varieties of it. In your case, it's ocular albinism, because it's only affecting your eyes." He tilted his head slightly to the side. "But I've never heard of ocular albinism causing pink eyes. Usually they're red."

"Oh." Imra squirmed, meeting Garth's eye. "It's a…genetic condition, I guess", she said. "Maybe a mix of factors caused it."

Foreman didn't look convinced, but he decided not to press the matter further. Instead he said to the nurse who just came in, "Take this down to the lab for testing, please." The nurse nodded and exited the room.

"Ms. Ardeen…Imra, can you remember anything about your birth parents?" inquired Thirteen.

"Is this necessary?" Imra asked, clearly uncomfortable.

"I know it must be difficult for you to have lost your parents at such a young age", Thirteen said gently, "But any illness they might have had could have been passed on to you. It might be medically relevant."

"As far as I can remember, they don't have any hereditary diseases", said Imra. She realized then what she said, and quickly corrected her mistake. "I mean didn't. I don't think they had anything that would be relevant."

Thirteen had noticed, despite Imra's attempt to cover it up, her use of the present tense when she had talked of her parents. She passed it off as a slip of the tongue, but it kept nagging her at the back of her mind. She pushed it aside and continued.

"We need to get as complete a family history as possible", she said. "If there's anything you can remember about your parents…"

"Everything that we could remember, we put in the file", Imra answered. "I know it's incomplete, but it's the best we could do."

"I understand", said Thirteen. "If you remember anything else that might be even remotely relevant, you should tell us. Doctor-patient confidentiality prevents us from telling anyone anything you don't want them to know, and it could help us figure out what's wrong with you."

"We will", Garth promised.

"In the meantime, why don't you tell us the name of the orphanage you live in?" suggested Foreman. "Someone there might know something."

"We've moved out", supplied a dark-haired young woman in a short black dress and shiny silver leggings – Tinya. "And anyway, we've asked. They told us everything they knew. Imra's previous doctor put it into her file."

"Who was her previous doctor?" asked Foreman. "We didn't get a name."

"Uh, I don't think you'd know him", replied Chuck evasively. "He's a relatively new doctor, but he's quite efficient. Everything was going fine until Imra had the heart attack."

"Hmm…" said Foreman, unsure whether to take them at their word or not, while Thirteen examined Imra.

"Vitals look good, heart's still a little irregular, but that's to be expected. It still needs time to recover." Thirteen removed her stethoscope. "Other than that, you seem to be f–"

She broke off abruptly as Imra started shaking violently, rattling the bed and IV. Garth jumped up and exclaimed, "What's wrong with her?"

Thirteen tried to hold Imra down long enough to diagnose her. "She's seizing. Call a code!" she cried. She and Foreman worked together to get Imra on her side as two nurses rushed in.

"Get them out of here", Foreman said to a nurse, who nodded and began ushering Garth, Chuck, Tinya, and Luornu out of the room, evicting strong protests from all four.

The last thing the four Legionnaires heard before the door was closed on them was Thirteen saying urgently, "I need four milligrams of lorazepam, stat!"

* * *

**_A/N: Well, there you have it. By popular request, I present to you the first ever _**_Legion of Superheroes/House **crossover. I will be referring to the Legionnaires by their real names throughout the story, as well as updating daily. And, as always, reviews fuel my muse, so please......=)**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_House _**or **_Legion of Superheroes._**  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The four Legionnaires waited anxiously outside Imra's room, pacing and trying to keep calm. Garth tried not to think about Brainiac 5's report after he'd assessed Imra's condition.

_"I'm afraid I can't tell what caused the heart attack. Her lung was patched up well – it had nothing to do with the lack of oxygen. It could possibly have been a reaction to the laser, but without knowing what they used to hit her, it's impossible to determine if that is the case. I am inclined to think, however, that her condition is a medical one. I've researched several medical programs, but none in this time could come close to a certain Dr. Gregory House from the 21__st__ century. He was the best; unethical, but brilliant, and the only reason his patients died was because they had a terminal illness or they were diagnosed too late. I believe he is Imra's best chance."_

After a quick confab with the rest of the Legion, it was agreed that Garth, Tinya, Chuck, and Luornu would accompany Imra to 21st century Princeton-Plainsboro, under the guise of orphans, which would provide an excuse for their 'little knowledge' about their parents. And so here they were, undercover, in the hope of curing Imra of her mysterious condition. But how were they to provide enough facts for Dr. House to diagnose her if they could not reveal their very nature?

"Excuse me", said Thirteen, pulling Garth out of his reverie.

"How is she, doctor?" Chuck inquired in concern.

"She's stable, for now, but I'm afraid this rules out some of our theories."

"That's good, right?" asked Luornu. "The more you rule out, the less things it could possibly be."

"It's not that simple. We're still testing some of our theories, but if those don't fit either then we might not know what's wrong." Thirteen noted how strained and anxious they all looked, and she tried to alleviate that. "If you could give us any more information, it could help us diagnose Imra. Maybe she has an underlying medical condition or a specific genetic code that could alter the way some diseases affect her?"

"Uhm…" Garth rubbed his neck. He caught his teammates' eyes and jerked his head to one side. "Excuse us a moment, please."

Puzzled, Thirteen stepped away as the Legionnaires retreated to one side and began arguing in hushed voices.

"What are we supposed to say?" demanded Chuck. "That she's a telepath from Titan? We'd get thrown into the loony bin."

"Maybe that laser had something to do with it", said Tinya. "Remember what Brainy said?"

"But we can't tell them that", argued Garth. "Number one, Imra's file says she was stabbed with a knife; number two, we don't know what laser it was; and number three, lasers aren't supposed to be _common_ enough for a simple mugger to get hold of!"

"We have to tell them something", Luornu said reasonably. "The doctors are already getting suspicious."

"What about the fact that she's been exposed to some 'unfriendly' environments?" asked Tinya. "That fight we had with the Dark Circle in that dusty old warehouse last week…"

"Maybe", said Chuck. "But we have no idea what sort of environment would do for a substitute. Knowing them, they'd want to go test for bacteria and germs in the area, and they won't find it."

"Well, what sort of areas around here would do for a stand-in?" asked Luornu. "It might not work, but it's worth a shot, and we haven't got anything better."

"I'll ask Brainy", Garth volunteered. "You guys go stall the doctor and tell her I went to talk to Imra about where she's been."

"Aren't Dr. Foreman and the nurses still in there?" inquired Tinya.

"Nope. Look, they're coming out."

They were indeed. Dr. Foreman and the two nurses who had helped with Imra's seizure had already exited the room and Foreman was now talking to Thirteen.

"Okay", agreed Luornu. "I can guarantee you about five minutes. Go."

Garth nodded and slipped into Imra's room.

Luornu hid behind Chuck and Tinya and, making sure no one was looking, split into three.

"Are you sure about this, Lu?" asked Chuck in a low voice. "They're going to notice your hair for sure."

"That's why I had Brainy program two holo-rings for me", said Luornu's Purple Body, holding up one. She slipped it on and immediately appeared as herself combined. Orange Body did the same. They were now three identical girls, all in the same dress, and no one would be able to tell them apart unless they noticed the absence of purple and orange stripes in White Body's hair.

Tinya stepped aside carefully, so as to allow Foreman and Thirteen to see only one Luornu. "Okay, g–wait a minute, is that Dr. House?" she asked, stepping back to hide Luornu again.

Chuck risked a peek. A rumpled-looking man with a cane was now standing with Foreman and Thirteen, talking to them. "Yes, it is. You'd better wait a while, Lu; Brainy said something about Dr. House being extremely observant."

"He's going into Imra's room", said Tinya. "Why's he going into Imra's room?"

"I don't know, but we don't want the other two doctors to go in too", declared Orange Luornu. She separated from the group and set off in the direction of the doctors. Then Tinya sidled back into place and Chuck moved aside to let Purple Luornu pass. This Luornu moved quickly to the left, while Orange Luornu distracted Foreman and Thirteen. Then White Luornu dashed down the corridor on the right and disappeared.

"Operation Triplicate in motion", announced Chuck with a grin.

* * *

Garth pushed open the sliding door and quickly closed it behind him, then drew the curtains shut over it. "Whew."

"Garth?" began Imra from the bed. "What are you doing…?"

"No, no, don't get up!" cried Garth. "You just had a seizure and they still don't know what's wrong with you. I'm only in here so I can communicate with Brainy."

"With Brainy?" repeated Imra as Garth took out a modified Legion flight/communication ring from his pocket. "But why…"

"Ssh!" said Garth.

"Brainiac 5", a holographic Brainy answered after several seconds. He narrowed his eyes when he saw who was calling. "Wait a minute…Garth! What are you doing?"

"Sorry, Brainy, I need some info to give the doctors", said Garth.

"This device is meant for emergencies only!" hissed Brainy.

"Yeah, well, trust me, this is an emergency, okay?" snapped Garth. "Listen, the docs are getting suspicious. We need to give them something that won't tip them off about who we are, other than what we have already."

"Good luck with that", said Brainy, with the merest hint of sarcasm.

"Listen! Can you scout Trenton in the 21st century and find a place that is similar to the warehouse we fought the Dark Circle in last week?"

"I can try", said Brainy, and Garth heard his fingers clacking the holographic keyboard. "But I must warn you, such information is likely to be – wait! I have something!"

"Hurry, Brainy!" said Garth urgently, hearing footsteps outside the door.

"It's an abandoned building by the park on 73rd Avenue. Its biometric scannings are an almost exact match to –"

"Gotta go, Brainy", Garth interrupted, hastily stowing the ring back into his pocket just as the door slid open to reveal Dr. House.

House observed the young couple in the room with a trained eye. They looked guilty about something, but he wasn't sure what it was yet. But you could bet he was going to find out.

"Um, Dr.?" questioned Imra.

House breathed in, popped a Vicodin, plastered a fake congenial smile on his face, and approached them, speaking brightly.

"Good morning, I'm Dr. House, and I'm the person in charge of your case. I'm here to get some information which could help save your life."

There was a short pause following this announcement.

"We'd like to help you, Dr. House, but as we told Dr. Hadley, we –"

"Yes, you are orphans", interrupted House, cutting off Imra mid-sentence. "And you've compiled everything you could remember and asked around at the orphanage for anything that might be medically relevant. Yeah, I got all that from Dr. Hadley. What I don't get, is why you" – he pointed his cane at Imra – "are doing all the talking."

"I can answer your questions too, if you'd prefer –"

"I know", House cut Garth off too. He addressed Imra again. "I'm not curious about why you're doing the taking instead of him. I'm curious about why you're talking at all."

"And why would that –"

"Because", said House, interrupting again (and annoying Imra and Garth), "Most seizure victims are not up and talking within minutes of said seizure. The fact that you are is very interesting. Seizure victims usually take at least half an hour to recover, but you seem to be miraculously fine."

Imra had nothing to say. House cocked his head before asking his next question.

"Where've you been lately? Anywhere out of the ordinary?"

"Well, there was this old building on 73rd Avenue", began Imra after a nod from Garth.

"And you were in an abandoned building because…"

"I was curious. I was wondering if it was in good repair, whether it was suitable to buy and set up an office in", said Imra, making up an excuse on the spur of the moment.

"Where would you get the money?" asked House interestedly.

"The trust fund my parents set up for me."

"What about your new apartment?"

"We moved in six months ago, there's no way…" began Garth.

"Funny thing about bacteria is, it can hide for months, until something comes along and triggers it to become active."

"There's nothing there", said Imra, with a little too much conviction.

"Interesting", remarked House. "You been taking anything?"

"What?" asked Garth, confused.

"No", replied Imra. "I don't do drugs."

"Really?" asked House skeptically. "You're nineteen, an orphan, and you had a heart attack and a seizure. Drugs would explain everything."

"I haven't been taking drugs", Imra repeated.

House watched her intently for a moment before regaining his congeniality. "Okay." He turned and strode out of the room.

Garth and Imra stared after him.

"He's getting really suspicious", said Imra. "If he didn't think we were hiding something before, he does now."

"Let's hope he gets you better before he finds out what it is", agreed Garth.

* * *

"Well?" Thirteen stood with her arms crossed, her face indicating skeptical inquiry.

House emptied another Vicodin tablet into his mouth and stumped toward the elevator. Thirteen trailed him.

"Empty building on 73rd Avenue. Take Taub and go check it out." He pressed the button and looked around. "Where's Foreman?"

"He had to go chase down a very elusive young woman who can move surprisingly fast."

"Ouch", said House. "She make goo-goo eyes at you?"

Thirteen rolled her eyes as she replied, "She's one of Imra's friends. We asked them if there was anything else they could tell us that could help, and they retreated to discuss something. Then Luornu –"

"Excuse me?" interrupted House. "Luornu?"

"There are any number of unique names out there", Thirteen pointed out. "Anyway, Luornu said she had to clear something up, because apparently the receptionist in the lobby mentioned that you have a reputation for being disreputable, and they were reluctant to reveal anything because of that. So Foreman went down to talk to the receptionist, and it turns out she didn't say any such thing, so Foreman is now trying to track down Luornu and figure out what the heck's going on."

"He's not the only one", House agreed. He dug out his phone and flipped it open. "Foreman, when you get hold of that girl, call me. I want to find out what these people are hiding." He snapped his phone shut and stepped into the elevator. "Don't you have an abandoned building to visit?" he asked Thirteen.

The elevator dinged open and House stepped out, only to be flanked by Taub and Kutner. He was not annoyed by this, however. Rather, he seemed to be expecting it.

"What've you got?" he asked as he walked.

"Tox screen was clear of every drug, but the test did pick up traces of an anomaly in the blood", replied Kutner, keeping pace with House.

"An experimental?" inquired Taub.

"Don't think so. It doesn't seem to be hazardous at all, and it doesn't have the basic structure of a drug."

"And yet, who are we to deny the existence of a breakthrough drug that doesn't look like a drug?" questioned House. "An anomaly is an anomaly. Test it, find out what it is. What else you got?"

"I ran a blood panel and she's clear of all systemic diseases", said Taub. "There's nothing that could have caused cardiomyopathy. But her platelet count is elevated; it could prove Foreman's blood clot theory."

"The count is elevated because she's got a pierced lung", said House in a tone which said, "idiot". "Strike three, you're out."

"I checked the platelet count in her medical records, and our current count is higher than what her doctor reported", said Taub. "Now, either her doctor got it wrong, or Foreman's right about the clot – at least partially."

House scrutinized him for a moment, then nodded once. "Okay. Strike…" He seemed to consider. "Two and a half."

Taub rolled his eyes before he stepped in front of House, blocking his way.

House sighed dramatically. "Yes?"

Taub looked to the side before replying, "I think there's something odd about these people."

"Yes, and you say that because you haven't even met them yet", said House. "You're on break-in duty. Go meet Thirteen and take a trip to that deserted building on 73rd Avenue."

"I reread Imra's medical file very carefully", Taub plowed on. "There are a number of discrepancies in their story. For instance, the description of the way her knife wound was treated is too simple. It just states that it was cauterized and closed up. There's no mention of the amount of damage other than the fact that it pierced her lung, and we don't know her blood type."

"Well, then, you obviously didn't read it carefully enough", said House. "Any idiot knows that your blood type is part of your medical file."

Taub clapped the file into House's unsuspecting hand. "I checked it through. Twice. No mention of any blood type or her previous doctor's name. There's just a list of ones and zeros where the signature ought to be."

House stopped, glared at Taub, and opened the file. In disbelief he stared at the orderly lines of numbers in the signature space, and at the absence of a column where a blood type was usually listed.

"Very interesting…" he commented.

"House?" questioned Taub.

"Go help Thirteen", House told him absently, already making his way down the hall.

* * *

**_A/N: I did say I'd be updating daily! Chapter Three will come along tomorrow, and I hope you're enjoying the story. Many thanks to _**_guardyanangel, Devilbunnyxox, **and **The Violet Rose **for writing the first three reviews!**_

**Disclaimer: Oh, please. I'm actually glad I'm not responsible for the annoying, antisocial, misanthropic Dr. House.**_**  
**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Dr. James Wilson, Head of the Department of Oncology, barely looked up from his desk when his office door swung open with a loud creak and a cane pounded on the floor. He did startle, however, when a hard clipboard was suddenly banged directly in front of him with some force.

"What do you want, House?" Wilson sighed.

"I've got an interesting patient", said House, tramping to the chair in the corner where he always sat and settling down on it. "An interesting, lying patient."

"Yes, I get it. Everybody lies." Wilson reached for the clipboard. "What is this?"

"My theories on what she could possibly be hiding", House replied, setting his cane across his lap. "And by 'she', I mean her and all four of the friends she brought with her."

"'My patient is an alien'?" Wilson questioned disbelievingly. "House, this is absurd."

"You wouldn't say that if you'd met her – or any of her four wacky friends", House told him. "They're hiding something."

"You say that about everyone", Wilson pointed out.

"They're hiding something bigger than usual", House deflected. "And she's got pink eyes."

Wilson stared at him. "Seriously?"

"Trust me. I didn't believe Foreman either when he said they were pinky pink instead of the reddish pink Cuddy led me to believe they were."

"Albinism?" Wilson queried.

"Well, she says so, but I think she's lying."

"What reason would she have to lie about the colour of her eyes, and how does it relate to her hiding bigger things than usual?"

"I don't know yet", House admitted. "But I'll find out."

"House, it is not your personal mission to discover everybody's hidden secret."

"I'm not trying to discover everybody's hidden secret – just my patients'."

"They fall under 'everybody'."

"Her story is full of holes and her file's full of even bigger ones. She's got no parents, no history, no previous doctor's name, and apparently no blood type either."

"What do you mean?" asked Wilson.

"Hole number one: she claims she was mugged directly outside a hospital because the only people close enough to see what happened were her four friends who were all too far to help her." House's cynical tone made clear what he thought of that story. "Hole number two: she was somehow given oxygen three minutes after the knife pierced her lung because of hole number one. Hole number three: her medical records say absolutely nothing about the wound or her blood type and is also utterly devoid of a doctor's signature. Hole number four: she and her four friends are being very, very evasive." House looked directly at Wilson, daring him to contradict his statements. "There are more holes, but those are the main ones."

Wilson chuckled disbelievingly. "Well, it sounds like you've had a lot of time to think about this."

"Don't laugh", said House. "It's a serious matter. I can't treat her if I don't know a thing about her."

"Look, I'll admit it's fishy, but I'm sure they have their reasons for keeping a perfectly innocent explanation from you. That, by the way, accounts for hole number four. Now if you'll please just go away, I have reports to write." Wilson turned back to the stack of papers on his desk.

"Say what you like; I'll still be gloating over the incredible and unbelievable results of my discoveries later." House got up and stalked out without another word.

* * *

"What do you think of the patient?" Taub asked Thirteen as they scanned through the dusty, empty structure on 73rd Avenue.

"I think she's calm, cool, and collected", Thirteen replied cautiously, aiming her flashlight over the ceiling beams. "She seems to be remarkably unperturbed about what's happening to her."

"Nobody's that calm", Taub disagreed, picking his way through cobwebs. "She's obviously trying to convince us otherwise."

"You're starting to sound like House", Thirteen told him. "There's some mold growing along that doorpost. Maybe she breathed in some spores?"

"Spores wouldn't cause a seizure unless they gave her an infection first, which would only happen if her immune system was suppressed", Taub pointed out. "You don't think she's hiding something?"

"I think it's none of our business." Thirteen turned around to check another area. "This room's clear."

Taub examined some torn, soggy paper wrappings on the floor. He bent down to take a sample of the ample bacteria that would no doubt be growing there. "So you're not in the least bit curious?" he called over his shoulder.

"I'll admit she doesn't seem to have the average skeletons in her closet." Thirteen shone her light on a raggedy bird's nest on one of the hanging lamps and took a strand of straw from it. "This place is completely unfit to do anything with except demolish. You'd think they'd keep this place in better repair if they want to sell it off."

"It's been empty for months; they've probably given up the idea." Taub shut the door on the room he'd just exited. "This is nuts. It's an old, abandoned store that's been left to run down and collapse on itself. We can't even go to the orphanage because we don't know which one it is."

"There're a lot of mosquitoes around", Thirteen said, slapping one away. "Malaria? If she had lung damage it could have been compounded by the disease and caused the heart attack."

"We tested for that to rule out cardiomyopathy. Negative." Taub walked back to Thirteen. "Did you hear about the anomaly we found in her blood?"

"Nope." Thirteen flashed her torch around for one last sweep of the building. "What is it?"

Taub shrugged. "Well, House and Kutner think it's an experimental drug."

"You don't?"

I don't know what to think", Taub said as they exited. "These people are weird. Her medical report's weird. They're obviously hiding something."

"You haven't even met them."

"True, but I don't need to meet them to know they're being very secretive."

* * *

Garth and Imra stared as House dragged a booming stereo into the room.

"What are you doing?" Garth demanded, as House brought it over to Imra's bedside.

"I'm sorry?" yelled House. He pointed to his ear, then to the stereo. "I can't hear you, it's too loud in here."

"What are you doing?" Garth repeated in a louder tone.

House took out a pen torch and shone it in Imra's face, blinking it on and off. "I'm trying to provoke another seizure."

"Are you insane?" Garth exclaimed.

"Nope", said House. "If she seizes, it's epilepsy, and the heart attack was caused by complications due to the knife wound. If she doesn't seize, it's an infection. Either way, we've got our diagnosis." House sounded enormously pleased with himself, as he had reached this conclusion all on his own.

Several minutes passed, and nothing happened. Imra closed her eyes to avoid seeing the annoying flashing light House was dancing in front of her face.

"Are we done?" Garth inquired in a deceptively polite tone.

House switched off the torch and turned down the stereo. "Yup. It's an infection. I'll prescribe antibiotics, and in" – he checked his watch – "twenty-four hours, she'll be good to go." He turned to leave and noticed something odd on the monitor that recorded Imra's vitals.

"Her heartbeat's slowing down", he noted.

Garth swiveled his head to look at the screen, then glanced anxiously back at Imra. "Imra?"

House switched his torch back on and lifted Imra's eyelids. Shining the light into her eyes, he said, "Pupils are unresponsive."

"What does that mean?" Garth asked fearfully.

"It means", said House, "she's unconscious." Studying Imra's still form, he added, "It also means I was wrong."

* * *

**_A/N: Dun-dun-dun! Dramatic, much? By the way, I will be constructing this story along the lines of a regular House episode. Thanks to _**_guardyanangel, The Violet Rose, **and **leath **for reviewing. Oh, and also, I apologize for the lack of page breakers in the previous two chapters, which I did not notice until today. The problem has been rectified. I'm sorry if it caused any confusion.  
**_

_**P.S. By the way, **leath, **the medical terms throughout the entire fic are the result of a lot of time and research on the internet, without which I would never have been able to get this story the way I wanted it. What's a House fic without doctor jargon, right? And the continuity is after Season 2 of **LoSH **and near the beginning of **House **Season 5.**_

**Disclaimer: Oh, Dr. House! Would you like to tell my readers that I don't own you or your patient?**_**  
**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"So", said House, pacing in front of the whiteboard, "What causes a heart attack, seizures, elevated platelet count, and sudden loss of consciousness?"

"A toxin?" guessed Kutner. "About a dozen known toxins can cause inflammation, seizures, and thrombocytosis, and a blood clot could have caused the heart attack."

"Still doesn't explain the loss of consciousness", said Thirteen. "Damage from the knife wound is more likely. It could have hit the spleen, and we wouldn't have noticed because of her lung."

"Why'd you have to use both types of irritants to provoke a seizure?" Foreman asked thoughtfully. "Either one – sound or visual – would have done. Why both?"

"Well, judging by the way this patient's physiology is looking, who knows if just one irritant would have been enough?" House deflected. "Where's that girl you were chasing, by the way?"

"I couldn't find her. You called us back for another differential before I could catch up to her."

"It could still be an infection. Her white cell count is elevated; if the loss of consciousness was caused by a small clot in the carotid artery, it explains everything."

Everyone turned to see who had spoken. The blonde Dr. Allison Cameron was standing by the doorway, arms folded.

"What are you doing here?" questioned House. "This is my differential. In case you've forgotten, you don't work here anymore."

Cameron was not the least bit concerned about that. "Heard about your patient. Sounded interesting."

"Yes, well, it would be for you, if you were still working for me." House limped toward his former employee. "But you're not, so shoo. My case, my interesting patient. We've got it covered." He used his cane to point to the glass door. "Door's right there; I'm sure you can show yourself out."

Cameron just smiled. "Is this the girl you were looking for?" she asked, as the slim, white-haired Luornu stepped out from behind the wall. House stared first at her, then at Cameron.

"Oh, very nice", he commented sardonically. "You know I want to talk to her, but you're not going to let me do it until I let you work the case with me."

"Fair is fair."

"And is your blond, peach-fuzzed boyfriend looking to join in too?"

"Not that I know of."

"Fine." House entered his inner office and beckoned for Luornu to follow. "Baby-sit the kids, would you? Get Foreman to play daddy with you." He closed the adjoining door after Luornu, and through the glass wall his team could see him begin the interrogation.

Taub was the first to pull his interest away from the questioning and back to the case. "I think the diagnosis has something to do with the anomaly we found in her blood."

Cameron leaned her arms on the back of a chair. "What anomaly?"

"Don't know", said Kutner. "When we tested it, it turned out to be an unidentified, unheard-of extra chromosome. Nobody knows what it is or what it's doing in our patient's blood."

"Does House know about this?"

Kutner shrugged. "He was the first to find out about the results, but he didn't say anything."

"Which probably means he's going to do something about it that he won't tell any of us about until he decides we need to know about it", Cameron concluded. "Great."

"The chromosome could be just a result of her genetic mutation", pointed out Thirteen.

"She's an albino, not a super-powered mutant", Taub countered. "The chromosome hasn't been found in any other patient in the history of medicine."

"So she's a one in a million. That's rare, but it's not genetically impossible."

"Let's just focus on her symptoms", Cameron suggested. "If it's a chromosome, it's probably been in her her entire life. It's probably not medically relevant."

"It could be, if it's a congenital defect that's causing her seizures", said Chase in his Australian accent, appearing next to Cameron.

"What are you doing here?" his girlfriend asked.

"I looked for you in the ER; you weren't there, so I came to the next best place."

"I disappear from the ER and the first place you look is House's office?"

"Was I wrong?"

Cameron ignored that.

"Can we get back to the medical stuff, please?" said Foreman, studying their patient's file intently.

"Says you; you're the only one who hasn't contributed to the differential", Thirteen said.

"Inflammation from the surgery to repair her lung", Foreman proposed promptly. "Explains the thrombocytosis, heart attack, and the sudden unconsciousness."

"What about the seizure?" inquired Taub.

"People have seizures for no apparent reason all the time. It was probably just a one-time occurrence."

Foreman's, Taub's, Thirteen's, and Kutner's pagers suddenly all went off at the same time.

"Or not", Thirteen said, seeing the code on her pager.

Kutner stowed his away in the pocket of his lab coat, already standing up. "She's having another seizure."

* * *

Luornu stood silently, watching the eccentric Dr. House twirl his cane about in his hand. She decided not to say anything until he did. Instead she watched the cane make one, two, three, four revolutions in the air as she waited for House to speak.

"So", he said finally.

Luornu said nothing.

Pretending he didn't notice, House continued, "I hear you gave my employee a run for his money. Literally."

"It was just a misunderstanding", Luornu said. "We –"

"You lied."

She said nothing to deny the fact.

"Why?"

"It was for a good reason."

"What reason?"

Silence.

"Well?" House queried.

"I can't tell you."

"Yes, you can. You just don't want to, for reasons which I am very interested in."

"I can't tell you."

House sighed in exasperation. "Fine. You don't want to tell me, don't. But I'm telling you, your friend's life could depend on you revealing whatever secrets you know."

Luornu looked surprised. "Is it really that important?"

House looked at her in disbelief. "No! Of course not; I can easily treat a patient without knowing all the facts. Yes, you idiot!"

Luornu seemed to be thinking it over. "Let me discuss with it Imra and the others", she said. Then, before House could do anything to stop her, she slipped out the door and disappeared from sight.

* * *

When Luornu arrived back at Imra's room, four doctors and a nurse were all crowded in it. Luornu could just see Imra trembling violently through the glass before the nurse pulled the curtains shut. Worried, she ran over to where Garth, Chuck, and Tinya were standing anxiously.

"What's going on?" she asked in concern. "Is she having another seizure?"

"Yeah…it was so sudden", said Tinya. "One minute I was talking to her and the next she was shaking so bad the IV bag almost unhooked."

"You think they can figure out what's wrong with her?" Luornu asked.

"I don't know, Lu", said Chuck. "I really don't know."

* * *

The hard, grating sound of incessant rapping on wood alerted Cuddy to who it was before the door even opened. She therefore purposely found some files to be busy in, in the hopes that he would go away without bothering her.

The door flew open and House, preceded by his trademark cane, entered as if he owned the office. He was totally unfazed seeing Cuddy apparently busy reading several medical files.

"Ahem", he cleared his throat loudly.

Cuddy ignored him.

House looked around, not bothered in the slightest. "Okay, since you're so busy, I'll go pull apart my patient's DNA without your permission." He turned and stalked out of the room.

Cuddy debated with herself for just a few seconds before she went after him.

"Pull apart her DNA?" she said.

"Thought that might get your attention." House continued walking sedately along the corridor. "Taub and Kutner found an extra chromosome pair in the patient's blood work."

"An extra –"

"Chromosome pair, yeah. So instead of the usual 46, she has 48 chromosomes."

Cuddy was astounded. "Genetic mutation?"

House rolled his eyes. "Mutation results in the deformation or alteration of specific chromosomes – not a whole new extra pair."

Cuddy raised her hands. "It's a medical mystery. Go figure." She turned back to return to her office.

House watched her go in disbelief. "You're not in the least bit interested?"

Cuddy turned around to face him. "Go puzzle it out by yourself if you want to. I don't care. But you are not going to dig into your patient for more cells just to experiment with her DNA to satisfy your overpowering need to know everything. She's already pretty badly off." She resumed walking.

"This extra pair of chromosomes could be what's causing her to be sick! And it's never happened before in medical history!" House called.

Cuddy stopped, and, against her better judgment, twisted around again. She sighed, and House knew he'd won.

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Luornu asked worriedly, pacing around Imra's room.

The doctors were not around. They had all taken some more blood and gone to do more tests to try to figure out what was wrong with Imra. They had again asked for the name of the orphanage, and gotten even more suspicious when the Legionnaires had to avoid the question. Now, the five super-powered young adults were having a very serious discussion about what to do next.

"We can't stay here", Imra said weakly from the bed. "They'll find out soon, and that'll wreck the timeline."

"We have to", Garth said. "If we go back now, you could die. It's definitely a medical condition you have, and we need to figure out what it is so we can get you better."

"But the timeline…" began Imra.

"Forget about the timeline!" Garth cried. "We didn't come all this way just to give up. Let's review what we know. Maybe we can give the doctors something – anything – that'll help."

"We can't tell them anything more without revealing we're from the future", pointed out Chuck.

"Which brings me back to my original question", added Luornu. "What are we going to do?"

"Brainy might have some ideas", suggested Tinya.

"We can hope", said Chuck. He stood up. "I'll keep watch. You contact Brainy."

* * *

"House…I don't believe this", Cuddy said in astonishment as she looked through the microscope.

"I don't either." House was, for once in his life, really and truly amazed beyond belief. He and Cuddy had spent the night studying the DNA taken from previously drawn blood, and although having Cuddy keep an eye on him wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind, he couldn't care less about that fact now.

"This…is totally unpreceded and completely unbelievable", Cuddy continued, increasing the magnifying power of the microscope lens. "She really does have an extra pair of chromosomes with their own unique genetic structure, the likes of which have never been seen before." Cuddy raised her eyes and exhaled in complete wonder. "She's an alien."

House was wide-eyed himself, and he turned away from Cuddy to hide the fact. He looked into the microscope again.

"Yeah."

* * *

**_A/N: Aha! So House was right! She _****is _an alien! Who knew? Lol, everyone, of course. And as I revealed in the last chapter, this fic is post Season 2 of LoSH. Now, _**_leath **pointed out that this means Garth would have his prosthetic, but I can guarantee that no one is going to notice it, and you'll find out why if you're observant enough in Chapter 6. For now, though.....Thank you to **guardyanangel, The Violet Rose, leath, **and **Devilbunnyxox **for reviewing (by the way, Violet, there will be nine chaps in total - unless I decide to write an epilogue).**_

**Disclaimer: Aww, seriously? Me? Own these shows? Nope.****  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Garth had intended to call Brainiac 5 for advice from the twelfth-level intellect on the medical situation, but he never got the chance, because just as he was withdrawing the Legion ring from his pocket, the machines monitoring Imra's condition suddenly all began to beep rapidly.

Hurriedly keeping the ring, Garth was at Imra's side in a heartbeat. The Titanian telepath was gasping for breath, her hand at her throat. Then, as the doctors came rushing in, her head suddenly fell back onto her pillow as she went limp.

"Respiratory arrest; get the crash cart!" Kutner shouted.

"We need to intubate", Foreman declared, pushing Garth away as he came to the gurney.

"I'm sorry, sir, you have to get out of here", Taub was saying to the anxious Legionnaires.

"What's going on?" Chuck demanded.

"She's crashing", Thirteen informed them as she grabbed the intubation bag from the crash cart a nurse had wheeled in. "We need you to get out so we can do our job."

Taub began ushering the four friends out, with the help of Chase and two nurses.

"I hate this", Tinya declared when the door had been shut and the curtains drawn back. "It's been one scare after another, and they still don't know what's wrong with her."

"All we can do is pray and hope for the best", Chuck reasoned, trying to ignore the knot of fear in his stomach.

* * *

Back in the hospital room, the doctors and nurses rushed around in a flurry of activity as they tried to stabilize the patient.

"O2 stats are dropping", Taub informed his colleagues.

"BP's 100 over 70", Thirteen reported.

"How can that be?" asked Cameron. "Her heart rate's through the roof – 110 per minute."

Foreman took one quick look at the monitors, then at Imra, and reached the horrifying conclusion.

"She's throwing clots all over the place; it's restricting the blood flow. Remy, take over." Foreman handed her the tube he'd been trying to force down Imra's windpipe, and Thirteen picked up where he left off.

"What are you gonna do?" she asked.

"I need to drain the blood." Foreman disappeared into a crowd of nurses and came back with a syringe needle seconds later. "She's gonna rupture a blood vessel if we don't lessen the flow."

"You don't even know where the clot is", Thirteen objected, finally managing to ram the breathing tube into Imra's throat. "Bag", she called. Kutner immediately fixed the balloon-like bag onto the tube and started pumping air into it.

Foreman quickly scanned Imra's body for signs of blockage. "There." He pointed at Imra's stomach, which was starting to turn purplish while the area above it seemed to be getting redder and swelling. Without further hesitation he plunged the needle into the swollen area and drained the blood. He called for a bigger collecting container and Taub complied, deftly removing the small syringe cylinder and replacing it with a bigger one.

Gradually the beeping of the machines slowed as Imra's body stabilized.

"O2 levels are back to normal", Kutner stated.

"BP's rising", Cameron said.

"What happened to the clot?" inquired Thirteen.

"I think I managed to dislodge it", Foreman replied. "Start her on two units of hydroxyurea", he instructed a nearby nurse.

"We got lucky this time", said Chase. "It could have been a lot worse."

"What's wrong with her brain activity?" Kutner asked suddenly.

His colleagues looked up at the screen which recorded Imra's brainwaves and stared.

"They're spiking", said Thirteen. "I've never seen that much activity in a single person before."

Taub looked down and saw a faint pink light shining underneath Imra's eyelids. "Are her eyes…glowing?"

Foreman glanced downward and pulled open an eyelid. Imra's entire eye was glowing a bright pink, and then all six of them felt a sharp, stabbing pain in their heads. Then, just as suddenly as it came, it disappeared, and Imra's brain waves slowed as her eyes stopped glowing.

* * *

"More clots means the thrombocytosis is getting worse", said Thirteen. They were all back in House's office, doing yet another differential. "We've started her on hydroxyurea, but if she throws a clot in her brain or heart, she's dead."

"Her brain activity spiked and then plummeted within a single minute", said Foreman. "To all intents and purposes, she's in a coma."

"But her brain waves aren't that low", Chase objected.

"I know", Foreman admitted. "That's the strange thing. But everything else shows that she's comatose. It isn't normal."

"Nothing about this case is normal anymore", Taub pointed out.

"The coma supports infection", said Cameron. "Something that severe is rare, but…"

"Her white cell count's dropped back to normal", Chase countered.

"Her eyes were glowing."

Everyone fell silent. It was Kutner who had spoken. The other five doctors had been reluctant to mention the glowing eyes and the brief stab of their minds. House spun around to look at Kutner.

"What?"

"Her eyes were glowing", Kutner repeated. "Bright pink."

"To match the colour", House commented to no one in particular.

"You believe him?" Cameron asked in surprise.

"Is he lying?"

"No, but we didn't think you'd believe us."

"Twelve hours ago, I wouldn't have", House admitted. "Things have changed."

Chase looked at his former boss shrewdly, a quizzical expression on his face. "What did you find?"

"What do you mean what did I find?" questioned House not-so-innocently.

"You believing us about the patient's glowing eyes means you discovered something equally unbelievable, yet true", said Chase. "What was it?"

House smiled sardonically. "Sometimes I wonder why I fired you." House walked around the whiteboard, heading for the coffee counter. "Do you remember the extra chromosomes Taub and Kutner found in her blood?"

"Yeah", said Thirteen.

"Well", said House, shuffling back to the whiteboard with a cup of coffee, "turns out it's not just an extra pair of chromosomes; it's a whole new, additional genetic trait."

"That's impossible", Taub protested.

"So are glowing eyes", House pointed out.

There was a short pause as all the doctors tried to find a rational explanation for everything. Nothing presented itself, but House did finish his coffee.

"Well", he said, breaking the silence, "there's only one thing to do." He hobbled to the door. "We've got to go drag the truth out of the patient."

"She's in a coma", said Kutner.

"So we drag it out of her friends instead. I'm sure they know something – they're probably in on the whole thing." House pulled open the door and looked around. "You coming?"

* * *

**_A/N: Oh oh! Are they going to find out the truth? Stay tuned! Chapter 6 is a revelation for everyone, House's team and readers alike. Thanks to _**_guardyanangel, The Violet Rose, Devilbunyyxox, **and **leath **for reviewing! Oh, by the way, **guardy, **I think this chapter answers the first two questions in your last review, doesn't it? As for the holographic rings, no they're not going to break down anytime soon (don't insult Brainy), and questions 4 and 5 will be answered in future chapters. Kay?**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of this story except the plot which is the first crossover of its type. **_**  
**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Garth felt he would rather be facing a hundred LSV members than sit in the dismal-looking hospital room with its whitewashed walls and dull, uniform furnishings, helpless to do anything but watch and wait while the doctors tried to diagnose the girl he loved, while Imra herself lay prone, comatose, and very sick on a hospital bed. He didn't like feeling helpless and unable to do anything.

"We haven't a clue what to do, Imra", he said, taking her still hand in his. "We're afraid to tell the doctors anything significant, but we all know we're close to losing you, and that scares us even more. I know what you would say. You'd tell us to leave the timeline alone and take you back to the thirty-first century, and what happens then will happen. But it's harder for us to make a choice. I don't want to choose."

He sighed. "The doctors think you're in a coma, but maybe your healing trance will be able to cure whatever's making you sick. That would be a win-win situation for everyone. But what if it doesn't work that way? Then what?"

The door slid open and Tinya, Chuck, and Luornu came into the room.

"Hey", said Tinya. "How's she doing?"

"For a healing trance it's normal", replied Garth. He looked at Luornu's hair, which was missing its purple and orange stripes. "Where're the other two you's?"

"One's at the vending machine and the other's stationed right outside Dr. House's office", White Luornu answered.

"Are you sure that's wise?" asked Chuck.

Luornu shrugged. "I don't know, but I am thirsty, we need a forewarning if House decides to do something, and we need to make it look like everyone's here."

"Point taken", Chuck conceded.

Just then one of Luornu's other two bodies burst into the room. "Look out, guys! House and all the other six doctors are on their way here right now!" she warned, before combining with White Luornu.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Cameron hurried alongside House as she talked.

"We have a patient who's dying, and we need the truth to cure her. Can you think of any other way to get it?"

Cameron was about to answer when Chase asked, "Is that the girl you were chasing yesterday?"

Foreman glanced at the vending machine and saw the white-haired Luornu waiting for her drink. "Yeah."

House abruptly changed direction and headed for Luornu, leaving six surprised doctors in his wake. He reached out a hand and caught Luornu's shoulder, then proceeded to pull her along on his way back to his flock of previous and current employees.

"Hey!" she protested, trying to pry his hand off.

"You are one very elusive young woman", House said, repeating Thirteen's words of the day before.

"Let me go", said Luornu.

"Not until we get some answers", said House.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere. I'm not telling you till we get there, 'cause you might run away."

Luornu was painfully aware that this did not bode well for the Legionnaires.

* * *

When the doctors reached the room, they saw, to their utmost astonishment and disbelief, that there were not three teenagers with their patient, as they had expected, but four – and the fourth looked exactly like the girl House was holding onto very tightly now.

"Get in", House ordered. Chase, Cameron, Foreman, Thirteen, Kutner, and Taub all filed in, then House finally released Luornu, locked the door, and yanked the curtains closed. "You've all got some explaining to do", he said to the five Legionnaires. "First of all, tell me why you" – he pointed his cane at the Luornu he'd just brought in – "and you" – he indicated the other girl in the room who was the splitting image of her – "look exactly the same, right down to the two stripes in your white hair."

The Legionnaires knew they were caught, but one of the Luornus – House couldn't tell which by now – tried to salvage the situation anyway.

"Um…we're identical twins."

"Right." House snorted. He wasn't sure about a lot of things concerning this case, but he did know that those two weren't identical twins.

"Is this façade really necessary?" Taub inquired. "Your friend could die, and we won't be able to help her."

At the anxious silence that followed, Cameron took pity on the teens and added in a gentler tone, "We can treat her, but we need to know the truth and all of the facts. At the moment we're just running blind, and that doesn't help."

The four Legionnaires exchanged glances and didn't say anything for a while. Then Tinya caught Garth's eye, and he nodded after some hesitation. Tinya took a deep breath and prepared to reveal the truth.

"Well, um…" she began. "Lu…"

Luornu understood and complied immediately, splitting one of her bodies into two and removing both her holorings. Now, much to the stunned amazement of the seven doctors, there were three Luornus, and each had a different hair colour.

"We're not exactly triplets", Purple-hair Luornu explained. "We're more like three thirds of the same person."

"But we've got slightly different personalities", added Orange-hair Luornu.

"But we're still the same person", put in White-hair Luornu, and the three of them combined into the one, original Luornu they had first seen. "I'm Triplicate Girl, from the planet Cargg, and I'm a member of the Legion of Superheroes."

House's eyes were wider than even Chase, who had known him the longest, had ever seen them. The other doctors bore similar expressions.

Garth closed the fingers of his left hand into a fist, and a white-blue ball of electricity crackled around it. "I'm Lightning Lad, from the planet Winath, and I helped found the Legion of Superheroes."

Chuck inflated into a ball, upsetting both Cameron and Thirteen, and bounced up and down. "I'm Bouncing Boy, from Earth, and I'm a Legionnaire too."

Finally, Tinya sank through the floor and came up behind the doctors, who were by now too stunned to process most things. "I'm Phantom Girl, from the planet Bgtzl, and I'm also from the Legion."

"Your patient is Saturn Girl, a telepath from the Saturnian moon of Titan, and one of my co-founders", said Garth, pointing at the bed.

"And we're all from the 31st century", declared all three of Triplicate Girl's bodies.

There was a deadly quiet silence following this unbelievable announcement. House, naturally, decided to break it first, with the statement that came most readily to his mind – the usual reaction that accompanied this type of declaration and the only logical explanation he could find.

"You're all insane."

"We are not", Garth declared hotly.

"I know it's a lot to take in", said Chuck, "But it's true."

"Yet another reason why you all belong in a psych ward", muttered House.

"If that's true, how can we do everything we just did?" challenged Garth, lighting up his fist once more to prove his point.

"That…I don't know", admitted House. "I'm still trying to come up with a rational explanation for that – if there even is one."

"There is", said Tinya. "You are not the only inhabitants of the universe. We all come from different planets, and as such, we all have different physiologies, in which centuries of evolution have developed precise genetic codes that results in our individual powers."

"You're starting to sound like Brainy", Chuck mumbled.

"Look, the fact of the matter is", put in Orange-hair Luornu, "that the 31st century is a very different place from the 21st."

House shook his head. This experience was becoming more and more unreal by the minute, but as he could find no other, _logical _explanation for everything, he _thought_ he was willing to accept what these teenagers said as the truth.

"Okay, so say I believe you", he started slowly, "What can you tell me about Miss Mind Reader's biology over there?" He pointed his cane at Imra.

"Well, first of all, she's not in a coma", Purple-hair Luornu replied.

"Not in a coma?" repeated Foreman. "But all the signs…"

"Yes, it may seem that way physically", said White-hair Luornu. "But it's not a coma."

"What is it, then?" asked Taub, somewhat skeptically.

"It's a healing trance", Garth answered. "Her mind's shut her body down so it can recuperate, but her brain's still working. Usually, she heals herself well enough, and she wakes up good as new, but I'm not sure what the result will be in this case. She's never been so sick before." He looked away, and Tinya rubbed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"All right", said House. "No coma – healing trance. Got it. What else?"

"The anomaly you found in her blood, the pair of extra chromosomes…?" began Chuck.

"How'd you know about that?" Kutner interrupted.

"Erm…" Orange-hair Luornu looked sheepish.

"Never mind", Kutner said.

"Yeah, anyway, that chromosome pair is the genetic code for Imra's telepathy", continued Chuck. "She's the most powerful telepath of her generation."

"Which is absolute diddly-squat to me, seeing how it isn't medically relevant to her case", pointed out House. "Next."

"Blood types in the 31st century are complex and more varied", said Tinya. "Imra's red blood cells contain what you term protein A, but also a substance called telophyte, which is present only in Titanians and which renders blood transfusions from a normal 21st century Type A impossible."

"Great. No transfusions. Anything else?"

The Legionnaires looked at each other. "We can't think of any other biological differences at the moment, but you could talk to her previous doctor", Chuck suggested hesitantly. Garth shot him a look, and Chuck understood that if Brainy was annoyed at this turn of events, he would be blamed for it.

"Wonderful", said House, seeming genuinely pleased. "Who is he?"

"Brainiac 5, another Legionnaire", replied Orange-hair Luornu, ignoring the raised eyebrow from her white sister.

At this, any pleasure he had shown vanished. "Brainiac? You mean the psychomaniac robot guy who was Superman's arch-nemesis?"

White-hair Luornu sighed exasperatedly. "I _told _you he'd react that way."

"What?" Orange-hair asked defensively. "Brainy would be the best person to tell him about Imra's physiology."

"Excuse my sisters", said Purple-hair Luornu. "What they mean to say is that our Brainy is not the Brainiac 1.0 of your century, but rather a distant descendant who has turned away from his legacy and is a hero."

"Are you saying Superman and Batman and all the other heroes of the 21st century exist too?" asked Kutner.

"Well, I don't know about the 'other heroes'", replied Orange-hair Luornu, "But Superman and Batman, definitely."

"Cool", said Kutner, smiling. Thirteen glanced at him incredulously. "What? It is."

"And unfortunately Brainiac 1.0 too", muttered White-hair. "Now can we please get back to Imra's case before we shatter any more perceptions or world views?"

"Yes, let's", spoke up Chase unexpectedly. "I'd rather not find out if giant slugs and man-eating plants are real too."

"Well, actually…" began Orange-hair Luornu.

"Can it!" said Purple-hair, elbowing her orange sister in the ribs. "They don't need to know that stuff. Besides, White's right. If we're gonna call Brainy, we might as well do it now so Dr. House can get on with diagnosing Imra."

"Thank you!" said House.

Garth took his ring out of his pocket and put it on his finger. "Brainy, this is Lightning Lad. Come in."

The green face of the twelfth-level intellect appeared almost immediately, took stock of the situation from what he could see, and said, in a tone speaking volumes of disbelief and incredulity, "You told them?"

"They were closing in, Brainy, and they caught Trip while she was split", explained Tinya, forestalling any verbal abuse from the Coluan.

Brainy sighed. "Very well. Let me talk to Dr. House."

"Glad to oblige", said House, stomping over to Garth. "Fascinating", he remarked. "It's actually a hologram transmitting over space as well as time. How did you people come up with such a thing?"

"Ahem", Brainy said pointedly. "We are here to discuss Saturn Girl's case, not 31st century inventions. What do you need to know?"

"What I need", said House, "is for you to get your green ass down to the lowly 21st century to do a differential diagnosis with my team – and while you're at it, why don't you bring a few units of Type A Titanian blood in case your friend happens to need a transfusion. A trans-time call is no way to solve a medical case."

"Impossible", said Brainy flatly. "We already have five Legionnaires a thousand years in the past with three holorings and a time-bubble device; a sixth person with more advanced equipment would be asking for a disaster, in such that the ramifications of such an act would have a 48.6% chance of paving the way toward an unprecedented…"

"Shut up!" said House. "I don't need to hear all that. You brought your friend to the past so I could diagnose her; to do that, I need you to do a differential diagnosis with my team; to do that, you need to come here. Now, I'll ask you again: do you want to get yourself and your smart mouth over here, or do you want your friend to die?"

There was a short pause, and Brainy sighed again.

"I'll be there in a minute."

"You do that", said House, as the call terminated.

* * *

**_A/N: So the cat's out of the bag. Well, it had to happen some time. Don't worry, though, I think I resolved the problem well enough - but that's for you to find out in the final chapter. _**_**Anyway, **Violet Rose, **congrats on guessing that Imra's only in a healing trace. And **leath, **I know I seem to torture Imra no end, but she's my favourite character. For some weird reason, the more I like a character, the more I torture them. But I won't go overboard. Promise.**_

_**We have a new reviewer today! Please welcome the sister of **Devilbunnyxox, TheEclipse93**! Thank you to **Eclipse **for reviewing, as well as **Devilbunny, leath, **and **The Violet Rose. **Special thanks to **Violet **for reviewing on every single chapter so far. And if you guys want in on my subscriber's list (meaning you'd receive a heads-up and literary trailers for every story I write), drop me a line! Even anonymous users can get on the list, if you're willing to give me your email address. If you don't want to, that's okay. **_

**Disclaimer: Has this ever happened in canon? No? Well, then, I obviously don't own the shows.**_**  
**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Brainiac 5 appeared in Imra's hospital room almost immediately after Garth's Legion ring had stopped transmitting. Everyone was still standing and barely had time to register his arrival before House said, "That was fast", in an uninterested tone of voice.

Brainy looked affronted. "For your information", he said, "time travel requires an exceedingly precise calculation of coordinates, or one might end up far from one's original destination; however, the properties of accurate temporal plane journeys allow for –"

"Could you please stop that?" asked House irritably. "Why must you go _on_ like that? What are you, a super-genius or something?"

Brainy was offended even more by that. "I possess a twelfth-level intelligence…"

"And I have an IQ that borders on genius", said House. "That's why I'm what people refer to as a brilliant diagnostician."

"Can we get back to the medicine, please?" Thirteen asked pointedly. "Hi", she said to Brainy. "I'm Dr. Remy Hadley. These are Drs. Eric Foreman, Chris Taub, Lawrence Kutner, Allison Cameron, and Robert Chase. We're all helping out on Miss Ardeen's case."

"Thank you", said Brainy. He went over to inspect Imra, carefully regarding the monitors and her response to stimuli. Then he straightened and turned to the doctors. "I'll need a full briefing on what has been happening – tests which have been run, diagnoses which have been discussed or ruled out, symptoms, and anything and everything else about this case."

"Excuse me", said House, tramping over to Brainy, "This is my case."

"Have you any knowledge of the way a Titanian's physiology works?" Brainy questioned in a deceptively calm tone.

"No, but they don't call me the U.S' best diagnostician for nothing. You tell me what I need to know, and I'll take it from there."

"I'm afraid it is not that simple. There are individual characteristics to consider – additional biological genetics to take into account, Imra's telepathy, her unique abilities, enhanced psyche, Titanian body systems…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it!" said House. "But you're green with three circles on your head – you're going to attract a lot of unwanted attention, and since we don't conduct medical tests in the ward…"

"That is precisely why I programmed a holoring to bring with me", said Brainy, slipping on said ring and transforming into a perfectly ordinary-looking human.

"You did all that in one minute?" House sounded impressed.

"Two days, actually. I programmed the vortex to take me to one minute after our conversation."

Foreman, Chase, Cameron, Thirteen, Taub, and Kutner had been watching the argument with an air of interest as they watched two intellectuals battle it out, while the other Legionnaires had been witnessing the same quarrel with bored expressions which said, "I knew this was going to happen." But all were waiting to see who would win – the antisocial, misanthropic doctor with hundreds of solved medical cases to his name; or the relatively unknown, superhero twelfth-level intellect from the future.

Neither did. House seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before offering his hand to Brainy and saying, "How about we work together then? With two brilliant people presiding over the case, we'll have it solved in no time."

His employees looked on in shock, while Brainy thought it over for a few seconds and reached out his hand to shake House's.

"Wonderful!" exclaimed White-hair Luornu. "Now that that's settled, can we _please _get back to solving Imra's case?"

"Good idea", said House. "Differential diagnosis, my office, now."

As they filed out, Garth attracted Brainy's attention with a tap on the shoulder. "Brainy…" he said in a low voice. "Imra…is going to be all right, isn't she?"

Brainy looked at him and sighed. "I assure you, Garth, I will do my utmost to make certain of that."

* * *

"Right", said House, twirling his cane and with his marker in hand. "What do we have to work with here?"

His office was more crowded than it had ever been before – with five Legionnaires and six doctors - excluding himself - all inside, some had had to resort to sitting on the floor and coffee counter or remain standing.

The whiteboard House was pacing in front of now bore the words, "HEART ATTACK", "SEIZURES", "LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS", "RESPIRATORY ARREST", and "CLOTS". House had erased "ALBINO" because it no longer applied to his patient, now that he knew the true nature of her heritage. Of the many diagnoses that could be causing all of Imra's problems, they had eliminated cardiovascular disease, cardiomyopathy, epilepsy, inflammation, and hereditary diseases. Toxins, which had been initially ruled out because it didn't fit all the symptoms, was now back on the table due to the fact that there were myriad poisons floating around in the 31st century, and an infection was still a distinct possibility.

Everyone was silent. This case had been taken out of their normal boundaries, and they weren't sure what would apply. Only House and Brainy seemed to know what they were doing. House was looking around expectantly, and Brainy was studying the whiteboard and Imra's file.

"Clots?" he demanded. "You had me bring two units of Titanian A positive because Imra has a clotting problem? I thought you required the blood because she had a bleeding disorder."

"I said, bring a few units of Titanian blood _just in case _she needs a transfusion", House corrected. "I never said anything about her being in immediate need of one."

"The most likely candidate right now is toxins", said Kutner, forestalling another argument. "How many of them could cause all of Imra's symptoms in the 31st century?" he asked Brainy.

"Twenty to thirty…" began Brainy.

"That's not too many", said Thirteen. "We could probably test for all of them and find out which one's making her sick."

"…thousand", Brainy finished.

"So how do we find out which one it is?" Luornu, now one person again, asked.

"If this were the 31st century, it might be possible to run through the universal medical database, but in this time, there is no feasible way to determine the correct toxin", said Brainy. He turned to House. "When you tested Imra, you drew her blood, am I correct?"

"Yeah", said House.

"May I examine it? I might be able to narrow the field a bit by the composition of her blood."

"If you mean the platelet choked plasma we drew two hours ago, be my guest."

Brainy frowned. "Exactly how much higher is her platelet count?" he questioned intently.

"About 42% more than that of a typical human female in her age group", replied Taub.

Brainy started pacing with his chin in his hand, muttering to himself. "The average Titanian has a platelet count of 3% above that of a typical Earthling…so Imra's count is approximately 38% higher than normal…that's second-level thrombocytosis…what do you use to check patients' brains in this age?" asked Brainy.

"An MRI or a CT scan", replied Foreman.

"MRI…" Brainy thought for a while, pulling the necessary information out of the vast stores of knowledge in his head. "Magnetic Resolution Imaging?" he asked. Foreman nodded. "Have you checked for myofibroblastic tumors?"

"We ruled out inflammation because it doesn't explain the seizures", began Chase.

"It does if there are also tumors in her lymphoid cells", Brainy replied.

"You think…lymphoma which metastasized to her brain?" Cameron asked.

"We drew her blood", said Taub. "We'd have seen mutations in her lymphocytes, but they were all normal."

"What about meningitis or encephalitis?" suggested Kutner.

"Not without a fever, psychosis, or nuchal rigidity", said Thirteen.

"I'm thinking both together", said Kutner.

"Meningoencephalitis?" Foreman looked at the table. "It does fit."

Cameron shook her head. "Without an elevated white count? Paraneoplastic syndrome or a surgery complication is more likely."

"No, it isn't", disagreed House. "Her immune system could very easily be compromised by now. You just want it to be something else because meningoencephalitis means she's probably going to die."

"What?" Garth looked up sharply.

"In this century, Garth", Brainy told him. "If it's meningoencephalitis, we can easily take her back to the future and treat her with the necessary antibiotic. I know for a fact Imra's condition is not due to a surgery complication – I performed that operation myself."

"You've found a cure for meningoencephalitis?" Chase asked.

"Yes, we have, and no, we can't tell you", said Brainy immediately. "Dr. Cameron could be right about paraneoplastic syndrome, but it is unlikely, as Imra isn't the right age."

"Well, then, hooray!" said House. "We've got our diagnosis. Take Miss Saturn back to the 31st century and treat her", said House.

"We can't take her back unless we're sure that's what she has", said Tinya. "If it's the wrong diagnosis, we can't risk coming back here again."

"We'll do a lumbar puncture to make certain that's what she's got", Cameron assured her.

"Oh, fine", said House. "Hurry up, then; I want to declare this case closed."

"It's not meningoencephalitis", said Brainy, studying Imra's file again.

"I thought you just said –" began House.

"I said we could treat her in the 31st century if she _did _have the disease; I never actually said that _was_ the diagnosis, and upon closer study of her medical file, it does not fit."

"How do you –" started Foreman.

"House", Cuddy interrupted as she pushed his office door open. "Why are you conducting a differential with five non-doctors in this room?"

House pretended to think about that. "They're superheroes from the 31st century", he blurted.

"Dr. House!" exclaimed Chuck.

"Relax. She's not gonna believe me."

"Right", said Cuddy. "And I'm the King of the Enchanted Forest."

"See?" House turned to his employees. "Get an MRI, CT scan, and lumbar puncture. We might find something useful."

Chase, Cameron, Foreman, Thirteen, Taub, and Kutner filed out, followed by Brainy, who insisted that he be allowed to examine the tests, while the other Legionnaires discreetly exited and headed for Imra's room.

"House", said Cuddy, "Are you running blind?"

"Does it look like I'm running?" asked House. "I've got a cane."

"You're ordering tests without an actual reason."

"I have a reason – I'm looking for a diagnosis."

"You never run a test without some sort of hunch or diagnosis you're trying to prove", pointed out Cuddy. "But this time you're just getting your lackeys to do them in the hopes that you might find something. And you've got Chase and Cameron actively helping out in this case, plus five other teenagers with no medical degree or expertise sitting in on differentials. House, what's going on?"

"Correction: four teenagers with no medical degree", deflected House. "The fifth is a super-genius, and I _think _he has a degree – or maybe several."

"House", said Cuddy.

"I told you, they're from the future."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Cuddy folded her arms and assumed her best 'Mom' pose. "Tell me the truth."

"That was the truth." House rapped his cane to the floor. "Have I ever concocted lies which were less than subtle?"

"Frequently."

House looked slightly taken aback. "Really? Okay, have I ever told a lie which you could see through immediately?"

Cuddy considered. "No", she said slowly. "What –"

Before she could finish her sentence, House's pager beeped. He pulled it out of his pocket and exhaled. "Great", he muttered. "My patient's gone into cardiac arrest", he informed Cuddy as he stalked out the door. Cuddy, not to be put off her interrogation, followed him.

* * *

When House and Cuddy arrived at Imra's room, the blinds were closed and the door was shut. Not to be deterred, House pulled the door open, and he and Cuddy got an excellent view of Foreman and Chase standing by while three Luornus stood ready by the medical equipment; Chuck holding a tray of medical tools; Tinya checking Imra's vitals; Brainy shouting instructions; and Garth bringing down an electrically charged fist onto Imra's body while Tinya's hand was still on her neck.

"Don't!" cried Cuddy, not immediately comprehending what she was seeing in her haste to keep Tinya from being electrocuted. But when the electricity charged into Imra, Tinya was unaffected.

"Pulse is back", she reported.

"Brain waves are normal", Purple-hair Luornu called.

"Blood pressure rising", said Orange-hair.

"Oxygen levels climbing back up", finished White-hair.

"Uh…LP equipment's safe", said Chuck.

"Excellent", said Brainy, looking over everything. He nodded to Chase and Foreman. "It's safe to continue the lumbar puncture."

"Excuse me, but _what _is going on here?" demanded Cuddy. "Were you holding electricity?" – this was directed to Garth – "Why is an unknown teenager giving orders and why", she asked the Luornus, as her pitch rose, "are there three of you?"

House, unperturbed by what had just happened, replied, "Because, and I repeat, they're superheroes from the 31st century with superpowers, and our patient's one of them. After witnessing that little scene, do you believe me?"

"I need to sit down", Cuddy said weakly, collapsing into the visitor's chair. "Can somebody please explain to me what the hell is going on?"

"Long story short…" started White-hair Luornu as she and her sisters remerged with each other.

"…we really are from the future, and we really do have powers", finished recombined Luornu. "We're all from the Legion of Superheroes, a universal peace-keeping and justice-dealing group of teenagers and young adults associated with, but not under the authority of, the United Planets."

"Planets", repeated Cuddy. "My God, is this real, or is it a dream?"

"It's very real", Tinya responded. "I know it's a lot to process." Next to her, Chase and Foreman began to resume their interrupted lumbar puncture.

"How can this be real?" Cuddy was looking at each person in the room as if hoping that someone would contradict what she'd just heard and seen with her own eyes and offer a rational, logical explanation, but none was forthcoming.

"Er, well…" began Chuck, handing the LP equipment back to Foreman, "in a thousand years, things have changed…a lot."

"Hand me the swab please", Chase requested, concentrating intently on his work.

"How long's it been since you did an LP?" Foreman asked as he dipped the ball of cotton in the dye and handed it to Chase.

"Don't know. Some time." Chase rubbed the cotton over Imra's back, leaving a bright orange circle. "Needle."

Meanwhile, Cuddy was still trying to come to terms with her vastly altered worldview. "So…you're all superheroes." She said the word as if it were foreign to her.

"Yes", said Chuck.

"And you've all got…powers."

"Right", said Garth, keeping a watchful eye on Chase's actions.

"Okay", Cuddy declared, "I'm officially out of shock…if only just."

"Great!" said House. "Now can I get on with the case?"

"Go ahead", Cuddy told him. Her eyes were still a little wild as she walked out of the room.

"That went well", Brainy remarked.

"Spinal fluid's clear", Chase announced, observing the tube of transparent liquid. "It's not meningoencephalitis."

"I could have easily told you that – and I did", Brainy said, self-satisfied. He accepted the phial from the Australian doctor. "Now, let me see what I can find out from this." And we walked away, muttering to himself as Thirteen and Taub came in.

"MRI's set up. You ready to move her?" asked Taub.

House glanced at his patient. "Yeah. Let's find out what this alien's got."

* * *

**_A/N: Righto, question-and-answer time! _**_leath, **about your question concerning the Trips' remergence, read Chapter 6 very carefully, especially the part when the Legionnaires are about to tell their secret. And don't forget, this fic is not in the DCU universe. It is based (mostly) in 21st century Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, in the "real" world. And also, I think I remember you mentioning that you hoped no one would notice Lightning Lad's prosthetic arm, way back in Chapter 3. I also remember guaranteeing all my readers that no one would notice it. The answer lies in the number of Triplicate Girl's holo-rings, and Brainy's reply to House's request - excuse me - demand that he travel to the 21st century. Brainy's answer also relates to the question posed by **guardyanangel **about why Imra didn't wear a holo-ring to hide her eyes. Oh, and **Devilbunny, **most of the Legionnaires in the 21st century look more or less human, so they wouldn't need to cover up their features. Now, if you guys still can't guess the answers by the end of the story, I'll reveal them to you outright in Chapter 9.**_

_**Thanks to **Devilbunnyxox, TheEclipse93, leath, **and **The Violet Rose** for their faithful reviews!  
**_

**Disclaimer: Hmm....House and Legion. Well, I wouldn't mind owning the Legion, but I definitely wouldn't like owning House. He's a handful. Sadly, though, I own neither.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

When the door opened without anyone knocking, Wilson expected it to be House again, but to his surprise, Cuddy came into his office.

"We've got six teenage superheroes from the future in the hospital", she informed him as she sat down on the chair by his desk.

Wilson stared at her. "O…kay…"

"I'm serious", Cuddy told him. "You know that albino patient we admitted two days ago?"

"House's patient? – the one with pink eyes?"

"Yeah. It turns out, she's not an albino, and her pink eyes are the result of her alien physiology. She's a telepath from Titan, and her friends are all superheroes in the same group. Plus, an additional teenager – who's green and who was her previous doctor – has just arrived from the 31st century to help out in her case", Cuddy finished.

"Okay…" Wilson said again.

Cuddy shifted her head. "I know you think I'm nuts. This is the sort of story you don't even expect House to come up with. But it's all true."

"Okay." Wilson couldn't seem to think of anything else to say. This was utterly unbelievable. "What – what are you on? Did you drink too much at breakfast or overdose on your birth control pills?"

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "I'm telling you, it's the truth. I don't blame you for not believing, me but I really need you to stop unbelieving me."

"Okay."

"And stop saying okay."

"Ok-all right."

Cuddy stood up and began pacing. "Okay, so they're all from the 31st century…and they've all got superpowers. And now one of them is deathly sick with a mysterious illness that could be anything, and it doesn't help that there are loads of diagnoses we don't know about in the future…"

"Should I be worried?" Wilson inquired. "I mean, this isn't a slow descent to madness, right?"

Cuddy sighed. "Fine. I can see you're not going to believe me till you've seen it for yourself. "Follow me."

"Actually, I can't. I have a patient coming by in twenty minutes, and –"

"Now."

"Um, okay", agreed Wilson, getting up. Cuddy had that look in her eye, and he decided it was better to play along, because something was obviously bothering her. He could always reschedule his appointment, because as every man knows, hell hath no fury like a woman's annoyance.

* * *

Kutner held out his hand to Taub and Thirteen. "Pay up", he said with a grin.

Thirteen rolled her eyes and slapped a twenty dollar note into his palm while Taub dug some money out of his pocket and looked first at it, then at Kutner, as if he wasn't going to pay.

"C'mon, give it here", said Kutner. Taub sighed and handed it over.

"It's unbelievable", he grumbled. "The one time House actually enters the MRI room to talk to a patient or someone associated with her, and you call it. How on earth could you have possibly known he would do that?"

"Simple", said Kutner, stowing the money in his wallet. "House likes to know everything. They're from the 31st century. He believes them. What does that give you?"

"Hmph." Taub turned back to the MRI monitors. "Doing an MRI on an unconscious person. I've never heard of it before."

"We've never heard of a lot of things about this case before", pointed out Thirteen. She tapped a few keys. "Starting magnetic resolution."

* * *

While the MRI machine whirled around Imra, House looked on and cast sideway glances at Garth, who noticed and looked at him, annoyed.

"Yes?" he inquired.

"Nothing", said House. "I'm just curious. If things in the 31st century are really all you say, why come to the lowly 21st century for a simple diagnosis?"

Garth sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "It was the only option", he said grudgingly. "Brainy couldn't figure out what was wrong with Imra, and if he couldn't do it, with all his intelligence and futuristic equipment at his disposal, then no other doctor would be able to either. We were desperate, so Brainy did some research, and he found your name. Apparently, despite your – er – attitude – you're still known as one of the greatest diagnosticians of all time."

"You don't have to bloat his ego even more, Garth", said Thirteen from the speakers.

"Watch it", House warned. "That ego is all that's preventing me from firing you."

Thirteen rolled her eyes. She was used to House's threats. "Okay, we're done. You can slide her out now."

House did just that, pulling the movable pallet out of the machine. He then picked up his cane and advanced into the observation room – where Taub was waiting for the prints – while Thirteen and Kutner came out to transfer Imra back to her own gurney.

* * *

Brainy peered into the microscope with some difficulty. He was not used to this sort of equipment, even though he knew how to operate it – in theory, that is.

"How primitive", he murmured to himself. "They've only got as far as detecting electrons. And one still has to look into the scope!"

He raised his eyes and rubbed them hard. The only thing he could see were protein components – which were always present in spinal fluid – or, as he preferred to call it, CSF. How he wished for a subatomic, electric microscope, capable of detecting the smallest particle within an electron! How in the name of Colu was he supposed to detect a 31st-century quasi-atomic toxin with such a backward piece of technology?

"Bear with me, Imra", he muttered to no one in particular before staring into the microscope again, trying his hardest to detect some sign or clue that would lead him to the correct diagnosis.

* * *

Taub slid the MRI prints into the slot and turned on the light. Foreman, Thriteen, Kutner, Cameron, and Chase all squinted at them, neither of them saying anything for a while.

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary", Cameron remarked at last. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her brain."

"No, hold on – there's some swelling around the meninges", said Chase, pointing at the area.

"That's very slight", said Thirteen. "And haven't we already ruled out meningoencephalitis?"

"Still could point to something else", replied Chase.

"Restriction of blood flow to the epidural area?" questioned Kutner.

"No, it's too little", countered Foreman. "There'd have to be considerable swelling to block the dura to such an extent that it results in Imra's symptoms. I don't think the swelling is very significant. She probably just bumped her head."

"Why are you here?" House asked. Foreman looked at him quizzically.

"I work here."

"No, I mean here, in my office", said House. "I thought you were going with Brainiac 5 to the lab to test the spinal fluid."

"He seems to know his way around remarkably well", Foreman responded. "He handles the equipment like a pro."

"Well, he is from the 31st century", said Kutner.

Just then Cuddy and Wilson entered the glass door. House exhaled. "Great." He stomped over to the two. "What do you want?" he asked.

Cuddy pushed Wilson in front. "Prove to this nonbeliever here that we really do have a group of super-powered teens in the hospital."

House observed his best friend's helpless, hey-it's-Cuddy look and decided that if he wanted to talk to Wilson about this case later on, he'd have to get him to believe it. He was just debating the best way to do that when Brainiac 5 slid in with his results.

Brainy shoved a few high-definition, colored prints into House's hand. "This is all I managed to get with the available equipment."

Wilson stared at the newcomer. To him, Brainy was blond-haired, tan-skinned, and short, but what was he doing here?

"House?" asked Wilson.

House sighed. "Yes, Wilson, everything Cuddy's told you is true. I was right about my pink-eyed patient being an alien – she's actually a native of Titan and she and the rest of her friends are from the 31st century, as is this young man here, who is also a twelfth level intellect."

Brainy slapped his forehead. Their secret was seemingly being told to everyone in the hospital. Why hadn't he thought of bringing a memory modifier with him? Oh, well. Maybe Imra would be able to do it, once they'd cured her of whatever she had.

Wilson gaped, looking first at House, then at Brainy, then at Cuddy. "Wh-what?" he managed to say. "Are you in on this too? Are you both trying to drive me nuts?"

Brainy sighed. Now they would waste more time getting this idiot to believe them. Unless there was a shortcut…

He brought his hand near his mouth and spoke into the Legion ring. "Garth, get two Legionnaires to come to House's office – and I don't mean two Trips."

Then he calmly and smoothly removed his holo-ring and stood before Wilson, still blond, but taller, green, and with three white circles on his forehead.

At this Wilson collapsed into a chair.

"Now do you believe me?" asked Cuddy smugly.

Just then Tinya and Chuck came running in.

"Hey", said Tinya, panting slightly, "We got your message. What's up?"

"Sorry. False alarm. My mistake." Brainy put his holo-ring back on before anyone else could see him. "Dr. Cuddy and Dr. House decided to let this doctor in on our secret. Rather than have him delay our efforts by denials and disbelieving questions, I decided to force the truth into his head and save us all the time."

"You certainly did that", said Wilson, trying to wrap his mind around the idea of superhero teens from the future walking the halls of Princeton-Plainsboro.

House, meanwhile, had been observing the prints from Brainy, and then he compared them to the MRI prints on the wall. Then he got out Imra's medical file and reviewed the blood panel sheet he had taken from Taub two days earlier.

"You see something?" inquired Foreman.

House didn't reply. He was too busy examining the three sets of prints.

"House?" asked Thirteen.

"There's swelling", he said at last.

"Yeeahh…" said Kutner. "But we ruled that out because it wasn't severe enough to cause her symptoms."

"Yeah, but what if it's not a diagnosis?" said House.

"It isn't", said Taub.

"And what if it isn't a coincidence either?"

"So she bumped her head", said Cameron. "What does that have to do with her case?"

Wilson, glad to have something he understood, leaned over to Cuddy and mentioned, "I think he's going to have a sudden brainwave and solve the case." Cuddy nodded.

House kept staring intently at the various prints while Brainy, Tinya, and Chuck looked on hopefully. Was he finally going to figure out the correct diagnosis?

"What if", began House, "it's a symptom?"

His employees' faces remained blank.

"Come on", he said. "Pretend the heart attack isn't a symptom. That leaves multiple seizures, loss of consciousness, thrombocytosis, and swelling around the meninges. What does that give you?"

"A…toxin?" Cameron guessed hesitantly.

"Right", said House.

"There are too many toxins that could be causing Imra's illness", protested Brainy.

"You had a theory that the heart attack was a severe reaction to the laser that injured her", House said.

"I did", Brainy affirmed, wondering where this was going.

"What if it was? What if that laser wound that caused her heart attack also activated a toxin that's been lying dormant in her for some time?"

"The fight in the warehouse with the Dark Circle!" exclaimed Chuck.

"At a stage of illness this advanced, there would have been some sign of the toxin in Imra's blood work", said Brainy.

"There was", answered House. "The platelets. Our blood panel machine mistook the toxin's molecular structure to be some sort of protein. We thought that was from the drug you gave her for her lung."

"I did give her an amino acid solution", admitted Brainy. "But we have no way to determine if those proteins really are toxin molecules."

"Yes, we do." House held the sheet with the CSF test results in front of Brainy's face. "Those same proteins are also present in her spinal fluid, and in her meninges." He pointed to the MRI print. "Now, normally, proteins in the blood, CSF, and meninges are not all the same. But I'll bet that in this case, they all have the same molecular structure."

Realization slowly dawned on Brainy. "There's only one toxin that fits everything. Oonocytropis, produced by oonoptic bacteria, which are commonly found in uninhabited buildings."

"I've never heard of oonoptics or their toxin, but yeah, great, whatever. We've got our diagnosis. Now we can treat her, and she'll be good as new." House sounded very pleased with himself. He had just solved a case that even a twelfth-level super-genius from the 31st century hadn't been able to figure out.

Brainy, however, looked sorrowful and grave. "I'm afraid it's not that simple", he said in a low voice, with a serious tone that quite frightened Tinya and Chuck. "Oonocytropia is fatal to Titanians."

* * *

**_A/N: (Gasp!) Uh-oh! What are they going to do now? Find out in the final chapter, coming tomorrow! Thanks to _**_Devilbunnyxox, TheEclipse93, leath, **and **The Violet Rose **for reviewing! (By the way, if you guys can't figure out the answers to your questions - which I gave you hints about in the last chapter - you have to tell me before I post tomorrow, so I can answer them directly for you.)**_

**Disclaimer: Oh, don't I wish.**_**  
**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Fatal?" exclaimed Tinya. "What do you mean, fatal? How can it be fatal? We live in the 31st century, for crying out loud. Surely there's some drug or medicine that would work?"

Brainy shook his head. "Oonocytropia is a viral toxin. There is no cure for it. Most beings can fight it off with the help of antibiotics, but Titanians lack the genes necessary to produce the effective antibody."

"Then give her the antibiotics!" said Chuck.

"I cannot. There has been some success against oonocytropia in Titanians with the early administration of powerful antibiotics, but at a stage this late…" Brainy stopped.

There was silence in the room. They all didn't want to believe it. House, especially, could not accept that the most difficult case he had ever solved was going to end with the unpreventable death of the patient.

"There's got to be something we can do", said Cameron.

"I've tried to think, but I've come up empty", said Brainy. "The only thing we can do now is wake Imra from her healing trance so she can say goodbye."

* * *

Garth was watching the three Luornus chat animatedly with Imra behind the security of closed curtains when the door opened to admit Brainy, Tinya, Chuck, House, Wilson, Cuddy, Foreman, Cameron, Chase, Thirteen, and Taub. He shot to his feet while Luornu combined herself.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Garth…" began Brainy. He didn't know how to say this. "It's about Imra…"

"Have you figured out what's wrong with her?" Garth inquired.

"Well, yes…"

"Great! So can we treat her here or do we need to go back to the 31st century?"

"Neither. I mean…that is…we need to…" Brainy looked around for help, but Tinya and Chuck just looked at him blankly.

"What he means to say", spoke up House, "is that the 31st century toxin that's making your girlfriend sick also happens to be fatal to her race."

Garth stood stock still as Luornu gasped and split again.

"That can't be true, can it?" exclaimed Orange-hair. "Bouncy, tell us it's not true."

Chuck looked up solemnly. "I'm sorry, Lu."

"No!" cried White-hair.

"It can't be!" wailed Purple-hair.

"Are you absolutely sure there isn't anything that'll work?" Garth pleaded desperately.

"I'm sorry, Garth, but there really isn't", said Brainy. "The antibiotic –"

"What about a blood transfusion?" asked Tinya.

Brainy somehow managed to look exasperated. "I keep telling you, the telophyte –"

"Is it possible to leech the telophyte out of Titanian blood and inject it into a transfusion from someone else?" questioned Foreman intently.

Brainy looked taken aback. "Theoretically, maybe", he replied. "But the equipment and time necessary to experiment with are not available to us."

"Could you get Violet to do it, back in the 31st century?" asked Chuck.

"Definitely not", Brainy said firmly. "That would be one too many time-sensitive passages in too short a period of time."

Silence.

"So, it's over", said White-hair Luornu desolately. "There's nothing we can do."

"Where's Kutner?" House asked suddenly.

All the doctors looked around.

"I don't know", said Chase. "I haven't seen him since…"

"…since we confirmed that it was a toxin", finished Cameron.

"Oh, great, now you're finishing each other's sentences?" House asked sarcastically.

Chase and Cameron didn't get the chance to reply, because just at that moment Kutner himself came rushing in with a sheet of paper in his hand, panting.

"Kutner?" said Thirteen in amazement.

"Saline", he wheezed out.

"Excuse me?" asked Cuddy.

"Saline", Kutner repeated. "The cure is saline."

"I beg your pardon?" asked Brainy in surprise. "Saline? I've never heard of such a thing."

"Don't tell me you guys don't have salt in the 31st century", House deadpanned after a beat.

"Salt?" repeated Chuck.

House rolled his eyes. "Maybe you know it by its other name – sodium chloride?"

"Oh!" exclaimed Brainy. "You mean NaCl."

"Thank goodness", grumbled House. "For a moment I thought you were too far ahead to know salt."

"I only know of it because of my study of famous historical chemical components", said Brainy. "NaCl is no longer manufactured in the 31st century."

"Really?" asked Kutner. "Then what do you use to flavor your food?"

"A wide variety of nutritional yet tasteful condiments", replied Brainy.

"Don't need to know that", House reminded. He turned to Kutner. "What's this about saline being the cure?"

Kutner couldn't resist grinning. "Okay, so once we confirmed that it was a toxin that was causing all the trouble, I went down to the lab to take a closer look at the toxin molecules. And I found out that the basic structure of the toxin was almost the exact opposite of the chemical components of saline. Saline is a negative ion, and this toxin is positive. If we treat Imra with saline, it'll neutralize the toxin."

"Let me see that", demanded Brainy, grabbing the result sheet from Kutner.

"NaCl- with KlOn+…yes, it's an almost complete opposite", Brainy confirmed, running his finger down the paper. "There's a little too much positive charge, but we can easily counter that with ionized H2O."

"So there is a cure", Garth said, feeling relieved.

"Yes", Brainy replied. "And judging from these figures, it's got a good chance of succeeding, too. Imra will be fine after a day or two, and then we can all head back to our time."

"Wonderful!" exclaimed House, pleased. "And do remember to remind yourself that a 21st century doctor solved a case you couldn't", he added gleefully.

"House!" reproved Cuddy.

Brainy grumbled something under his breath.

Wilson said, "Okay. I think I believe you now."

* * *

House had Kutner and Taub administer the saline drip while Foreman and Thirteen kept an eye on the monitors. Chase, Cameron, and Wilson went back to their respective departments, and Cuddy went back to her office. After House's employees left Imra's room (with the exception of Foreman, who took the first shift to keep watch on her), the Legionnaires took up residence, waiting and watching hopefully, but it was several hours later before any change occurred.

The machines monitoring Imra began beeping faster, but not urgently. They were instead signaling a good change in her condition, and Foreman rose to check Imra.

Tinya noticed and nudged Garth. "Garth, I think she's waking up."

Garth shot out of his chair and was by Imra's side in an instant. He glanced questioningly at Foreman, who nodded.

"Heart rate's increasing, brain activity is coming up", Foreman affirmed.

Imra's eyelids fluttered as she opened them. Garth smiled.

"Hey", he greeted her, while the others crowded around.

"Hi", Imra said. "What did I miss?" she asked.

"Apparently not much, as you're not surprised to see me here", replied Brainy, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well, things did get a bit hazy toward the end", Imra admitted. "But I think I managed to get the gist of it. Oonocytropia, huh?"

Chuck winced. "Don't say it, please. I never want to be reminded of this again."

"I do", said Brainy. "If I can get my hands on some sodium and chloride in the 31st century, I could patent the cure for oonocytropia. That would be one more invention that will help the universe."

"Typical Brainy", Tinya commented.

"Well, Imra", said Foreman, "I'm happy to tell you the saline is doing its job. You'll be back on your feet in no time."

"Well, that's a good thing", said Imra, pushing herself up a bit. "I'm getting tired of lying down."

Foreman chuckled.

* * *

Two days later, the six (er, eight, counting all three Trips) Legionnaires held a conference while waiting for Imra's discharge papers to be approved. They gathered in Imra's room, locked the door, and pulled the drapes shut.

"Okay, so what are we going to do about the doctors?" inquired Tinya. "Are you up to erasing their memory?" she asked Imra.

"Modifying", Imra corrected. "I can't erase five days' worth of memories."

"Are you sure you can do it?" Garth asked. "I mean, you've only just recovered."

"Modifying memories isn't very taxing, but since there are so many of them…" Imra shrugged. "I'll be able to do it, but it'll be much easier if they cooperate – and that'll be the hard part, especially with Dr. House."

Chuck groaned. "Dr. House. How are we ever going to convince him to allow us to modify his memory?"

"We won't have to", Brainy mused. His friends looked at him.

"What?" asked Purple-hair Luornu.

"What do you mean?" queried White-hair.

Brainy smiled. "I have a plan."

* * *

There was a soft, polite knock on Cuddy's door. Thinking it must be one of the nurses, she called, "Come in."

A feminine face peeked in.

"Oh, Luornu", said Cuddy, in mild surprise. "I have Imra's discharge papers right here. Just give me a moment, and I'll sign them for you."

Cuddy located the relevant paper almost immediately, then signed her name in the appropriate space and handed it to Luornu.

"Thanks", said Luornu. "But that's not entirely why I came here. We're gathering everyone in Imra's room for a final farewell. Can you come with me?"

"Well, House isn't exactly big on fond farewells, so good luck trying to get him in", said Cuddy. "But I'll come."

* * *

"Okay, look", started Chuck, when House, Cuddy, Wilson, Foreman, Thirteen, Taub, Kutner, Chase, and Cameron had all gathered in Imra's room. "This is how the situation is. We're really, really, grateful to you for helping Imra and curing her of a disease which would otherwise have been fatal, and you have our many thanks for it."

"I sense a 'but' somewhere in there", put in House perceptively. He didn't quite know why he had listened to Purple-hair Luornu's suggestion that he come say a final goodbye to his futuristic patient.

"But", continued Chuck, earning a smug, self-satisfied smile from House, "the truth is, we can't leave the 21st century with you knowing our secret."

"What do you mean?" asked Chase.

"We mean that when we first came here, we hoped you'd be able to diagnose Imra without learning too much about us", supplied Garth. "Obviously, that didn't work, and now you know almost everything."

"So?" inquired Taub.

"So before we leave, we need to modify your memories", answered Tinya.

"Wait – you mean we won't get to remember this case?" asked Kutner.

"Not in its true nature", replied Imra. "You'll just remember me as an ordinary patient whom you treated and went her way."

"We have to do this because if we left you with knowledge of our existence, we would be putting the timeline between the 21st and 31st centuries on some pretty shaky ground", said Orange-hair Luornu. "If you know too much about the future, it could have extremely far-reaching effects on the time-space continuum, and might even result in history rewriting itself completely."

"So you see how important it is that you don't remember this encounter", added Purple-hair.

"Actually, I don't", said House. He pointed his cane at the group of teens. "You said it yourself; I solved a case you couldn't. I saved your friend. And the thanks I get is having my memory wiped? I don't think so."

"It has to be this way", said Imra earnestly. "Otherwise we'd end up totally changing the future."

"Like I care."

"You should, actually", flared Tinya. "If the future was changed, Imra might never even have been born, and then you wouldn't have solved your most interesting case."

"What good is that to me if I don't remember it?" asked House infuriatingly.

Electricity crackled from Garth's fist. "All right. Here's the thing, then. As annoying as you are, I don't think you'd want the world to be destroyed. And if we don't modify your memory, that could actually happen."

"I'll do it", spoke up Kutner. Everyone stared at him.

"It happens all the time in comics", he explained. "Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do, and make sacrifices for the greater good."

"I like that one", said White-hair Luornu, elbowing her sisters. "We're on the same page."

"Well, um, okay…but this can't be done individually", said Imra.

"Why?" asked Kutner, puzzled.

"Well, if I modified your memory, and not everyone else's, sooner or later they're going to try to get you to remember, and they'll probably succeed in triggering a relapse."

"Well, then, you won't be able to do it", declared House, "because I refuse to agree to this."

"This is not working", muttered Tinya, rubbing her finger in circles on her temple.

"Looks like we'll have to use Brainy's idea after all", agreed Chuck.

"What idea?" asked House suspiciously. "And where is that green intellectual, anyway?"

"Right here", Brainy declared, knocking House unconscious with a sedative as he materialized out of nowhere.

"Where did you come from?" demanded Cuddy.

"It's quite easy to reprogram a holo-ring", said Brainy, filling up another syringe. "Am I going to have to do that for anyone else?"

"Not me", said Wilson. "I'd actually quite like to forget this whole thing. It's pretty distracting."

"Then close your eyes", instructed Imra, rolling up her sleeves. "And empty your mind."

The eight doctors did so, and were soon whisked away to oblivion.

* * *

Imra lowered her hands from House's head and sighed. "That's the last of it", she said tiredly, stumbling a little. Garth caught her.

"You did great", he told her.

"There's one problem", said Tinya. "When they wake up, aren't they all gonna wonder what they're doing in and empty hospital room?"

"No, because you're going to transport House, Cuddy, and Wilson to their respective offices", said Imra. "I planted memories about their patient leaving in the other doctors, and also the fact that Chase and Cameron helped out on this particular case, so the others are fine where they are."

"Okay", agreed Tinya. "I think Cuddy's office is right above us, isn't it?"

Luornu, now one again, nodded in the affirmative. "Yep."

"All right, then away we go!" Tinya grabbed Cuddy and floated up. Then she came back and took House and Wilson in their turn.

"Is that all?" she asked, when she returned from the third trip.

"Yes", replied Chuck. "We can leave now."

"Great! Then fire up the old time bubble, Brainy, and let's get back to our own time."

Brainy did so, and the six teenagers entered the portal.

* * *

When the doctors awoke a few seconds later, none of them remembered the strange case they had just closed. Only House wondered about the cryptic, unusual sentence he had written on his clipboard.

"My patient is an alien."_**  
**_

THE END

* * *

**_A/N: There we go. That's the end. I hope you guys all enjoyed it! I know I did! Since you guys didn't tell me whether your questions were answered or not, I'll assume they were, but I'll put the answers here anyway, for the benefit of everyone._**

**_Garth was wearing a holo-ring throughout the entire story, so no one noticed his prosthetic. Imra didn't wear one to hide her eyes because Brainy didn't want to risk too much futuristic equipment in the 21st century. And if you guys have any other questions, drop me a line!_**

**_Many, many thanks to all my reviewers: _**_guardyanangel, The Violet Rose, Devilbunnyxox, leath, **and** TheEclipse93_**_. Special thanks to _**_Violet, _**_who faithfully reviewed every single chapter. Thanks everyone for making this possible!_**

**Disclaimer: Okay, listen closely, 'cause this is the last time I'm gonna say it: I don't own **_House **or **Legion of Superheroes.  
_


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